HANUKKAH SPECTACULAR to Open at Woolly Mammoth With Peter Friedman

This holiday season, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company will present the world premiere of Hanukkah Spectacular, a new comedy by Lucille Lortel Award nominee Max Posner (The Treasurer), directed by Tony Award winner and MacArthur Fellow David Cromer (The Band's Visit). The production runs November 14–December 13, 2026.

Four artists. Three days. One conference room. And a Hanukkah show that could combust before it's even finished.

Set over a long weekend at a Midtown talent agency, Hanukkah Spectacular follows a group of Jewish artists brought together to create a commercially viable holiday hit about Hanukkah. As the pressure mounts, personalities collide, old tensions surface, and the lines between the people they are and the roles they are playing begin to blur. What begins as an attempt to make a holiday spectacular becomes an unexpectedly funny and complicated look at ambition, identity, family, and the stories we tell about ourselves.

Written by Max Posner and directed by David Cromer, Hanukkah Spectacular brings together a remarkable ensemble of actors led by Peter Friedman, widely recognized for his performance as Frank Vernon on HBO's Succession. Friedman has built an extraordinary stage career in some of the most acclaimed new plays in New York, appearing in original productions by writers including Annie Baker, Amy Herzog, Wendy Wasserstein, Will Eno, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, as well as Max Posner. His film credits include The Savages and Safe.

Friedman stars alongside Laura Heisler, Ben Edelman, Ben Beckley, and Ethan J. Miller. Heisler returns to Woolly following her appearances in David Adjmi's Stunning and Rocket to the Moon. Beckley's Broadway credits include What the Constitution Means to Me, while Edelman originated the role of Paul in Josh Harmon's Admissions at Lincoln Center Theater before reprising the role on the West End. Miller makes his Woolly Mammoth debut.

At the helm is David Cromer, one of the most celebrated directors in American theatre. Cromer has received a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, three Obie Awards, three Lucille Lortel Awards, four Jeff Awards, and the Drama League Founders Award for Excellence in Directing. In 2010, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. His Broadway credits include The Band's Visit and The Sound Inside, among many others.

Cromer returns to Washington, DC for the first time since directing The Grapes of Wrath at Ford's Theatre in 2003. Hanukkah Spectacular also marks his second collaboration with Posner, following The Treasurer, which Cromer directed at the Sundance Theatre Lab and Playwrights Horizons.

For playwright Max Posner, Hanukkah Spectacular continues a body of work that finds humor and humanity in complicated relationships and unexpected situations. His play The Treasurer, also directed by Cromer, premiered at Playwrights Horizons and was named a New York Times and Time Out Critic's Pick and received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Play. Posner is a Sundance Institute Fellow, a recipient of the Helen Merrill Award and three MacDowell Fellowships, and was the 2024–25 Sun Valley Playwright-in-Residence at the Hemingway House.

'The first time I saw a reading of Hanukkah Spectacular three years ago, I knew I had just experienced something unforgettable, and I'm so lucky to get to share its world premiere with DC this holiday season,' says Woolly Mammoth Artistic Director Reggie D. White. 'Seeing Max (Posner) and (David) Cromer collaborate feels like once-in-generation chemistry. Watching them amplify, interrogate, and deepen each other's work is like you're witnessing two brilliant artists write the book on collaboration in front of your very eyes. Max's play is a hilarious and deeply recognizable story about a group of people trying to make something honest while figuring out what they actually believe. This production promises to be exactly the kind of work we come to the theatre to see: disarming, surprising, and so true that that it sends you back into the world thinking about your own life a little differently.'

The production marks another addition to Woolly's longstanding role as a home for ambitious new work: Hanukkah Spectacular is one of five world-premiere productions on Woolly's 2026/27 season.

SCHEDULE

Hanukkah Spectacular runs November 14–December 13, 2026, with performances at the following times:

• Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 PM
• Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM
• Sundays at 2 PM
• Additional performances Sunday, November 15 at 8 PM, Monday, November 16 at 7:30 PM, Tuesday, November 24 at 7:30 PM, and Wednesday, November 25 at 7:30 PM

PRESS NIGHTS are Friday, November 20 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, November 21 at 8 PM. Availability is limited, please RVSP by emailing Maurisa at maurisa@spottedmp.com ASAP.

FREE FIRST PREVIEW: The first preview on Saturday, November 15 at 8 PM is FREE and includes a pre-show chat and a post-show party. By invite only.

PRIDE NIGHT: Members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies are invited to join us for a performance of Hanukkah Spectacular on December 3rd at 7:30pm. Come before the show to check out local LGBTQIA+ organizations tabling in the lobby and then stay after to enjoy a special talkback. Use promo code PRIDENIGHT for $40 tickets.

CHILDCARE MATINEE: In partnership with the National Children's Theatre, Woolly Mammoth will host a Childcare Matinee performance for Hanukkah Spectacular on November 22 at 2pm. This is for age groups 3-5 and 6-12 and will feature special workshops at Woolly so guardians can enjoy the performance. Learn more or buy tickets here.

For ages 3-5: Experienced teaching artists guide participants through creative play exercises, a story drama activity, and an art project – all while guardians enjoy the performance. Participants will receive a nut-free snack. Children must be potty-trained and able to use the bathroom independently. Limited to 12 participants.

For ages 6-12: Participants learn about performance and design fundamentals through engaging theatre games, collaborate with friends on improvised and/or scripted scenes, and create a theatrical design project – all while guardians enjoy the performance. Participants will receive a nut-free snack. Limited to 20 participants.

About National Children's Theatre: We champion research-based theatre education programs that help our kids shine. Based in Capitol Hill and serving schools and communities in the DMV, we offer camps, classes, and performance opportunities for ages 3-18. Learn more about us and why theatre education matters at nationalchildrenstheatre.org.

TICKETS

Single tickets start at $30. All Single Tickets are available at woollymammoth.net, by phone at (202) 393-3939, and via email at tickets@woollymammoth.net.

Woolly Mammoth also offers Pick Your Price tickets, where patrons pick the price they want to pay, starting at $15 for previews and $20 for regular run. Twenty (20) Pay-What-You-Will tickets are also available to every single performance online or in-person—ten (10) tickets are available in advance, ten (10) tickets are available on the day of the show.

Patrons who are 30 years old and younger may purchase $25 for any performance. There are also discounts available for educators and active US military personnel, spouses, and veterans. More information is available at woollymammoth.net.

ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

Woolly Mammoth is committed to making its performances accessible to all audiences. Open Captioned, ASL Interpreted, and Audio Described performances are available for select performances throughout the run.

Additional accessibility information is available at Woolly Mammoth.

ABOUT WOOLLY MAMMOTH THEATRE COMPANY

The Tony Award-winning Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company creates badass theatre that highlights the stunning, challenging, and tremendous complexity of our world. For over 40 years, Woolly has maintained a high standard of artistic rigor while simultaneously daring to take risks, innovate, and push beyond perceived boundaries. One of the few remaining theatres in the country to maintain a company of artists, Woolly serves an essential research and development role within the American theatre. Plays premiered here have gone on to productions at hundreds of theatres all over the world and have had lasting impacts on the field.